


my Dad-Fu is better than yours

by Besidemyself



Series: Irondad & Spiderson fics that could be considered to happen in the same universe (working title) [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Pepper Potts, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Happy and Vision only appear at the very end, Harry Osborn needs friends, Kid Harry Osborn, Peter Parker Feels, Peter Parker Has a Family, Peter is a nerd, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Rhodes does not even speak, Science, Stark internship, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, everyone is proud of Peter, heart to heart talk, science kid Peter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-26 13:10:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18181025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Besidemyself/pseuds/Besidemyself
Summary: Pepper halted for another second before her hands lightly squeezed his arms, “Are you really, really sure you want to come? It will be very boring for someone your age.”“Hey, why does he get to choose? I don’t want to go!”Pepper rolled her eyes while Peter stifled a laugh She then turned around to her fiancé, giving him a once over before moving up to him to slightly straighten his tie.“Because you’re the owner of Stark Industries and you have to network and Peter is not. And we won’t have much time to keep him company. I’m only thinking about the child.”---Peter participated in an international science competition and managed to become one of the finalists. The evening before the presentation he attends a boring party, together with Pepper and Tony. But he's lucky he's not the only teen.also:Tony is a proud dadTMwho likes to brag about the awesome things Peter is doing in school.





	my Dad-Fu is better than yours

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Hey, welcome to my first MCU fanfiction. This has no angst, no drama, just fluff and niceties and everyone is happy for the moment, even after Civil War. Okay there might be some character-reflection.  
> Also I’m no native speaker and this is not beta’d so sorry for any mistakes, lastly this is very conversation driven. Heart to heart talk? Well, please enjoy!
> 
> Oh, I almost forgot: This is a work of fiction. None of these characters are mine, they all belong to Marvel and thus to Disney. No money is made with this work.
> 
> Now enjoy!

“Are you sure you want to come, Peter? You can stay, order Pizza and watch a movie.”  
Pepper looked back at Peter who was awkwardly waiting in the main room of this gigantic hotel suit, only a bit nervous, apparent by the way he moved his weight from one leg to the other.  
“No. It’s fine. You got me this suit after all. It would be a waste if I don’t go now.”  
He glanced down to the expensive clothes he was wearing. He was glad he had no idea how much exactly it was probably worth. “And that was really not necessary. I own a suit.”  
The answer was a radiant smile, while Pepper walked towards him, dusting something off his shoulders and putting a few locks of hair back where they belong.  
“Don’t worry about it. It’s one of Tony’s old suits, I think.”  
A bit of colour drained from Peters face, while also thinking and almost laughing about the fact that he was ‘wearing an Iron Man suit’.  
Pepper halted for another second before her hands lightly squeezed his arms, “Are you really, really sure you want to come? It will be very boring for someone your age.”

“Hey, why does he get to choose? I don’t want to go!”  
Pepper rolled her eyes while Peter stifled a laugh. She then turned around to her fiancé, giving him a once over before moving up to him to slightly straighten his tie.  
“Because you’re the owner of Stark Industries and you have to network and Peter is not. And we won’t have much time to keep him company. I’m only thinking about the child.”  
Tony gasped scandalized.  
“Pepper! You’re my fiancé you should think about my wellbeing.”  
Again she rolled her eyes and huffed exasperated, before glancing at her clock.  
“Okay, you two! Peter, stand straight, I promised May a photo.“ Pepper held up her phone to snap a couple of photos. “Now Tony stand next to him.“  
The man did as told, also putting his arm around Peters shoulders.  
„Like this? Is this also for May?“  
„Yes, perfect! And it‘s for her and me and Rhodey.“  
Again Pepper snapped a couple of photos, smiling an incredible broad smile.  
“Rhodey? What does he want with such a photo?”  
The woman just shrugged nonchalantly before shoo-ing the two males out.  
“So, I want to make it clear one more time: No Spider-Manning and no Iron-Manning.”  
“None at all?” Peter asked.  
“None!”  
“What if I need to reach something that is too high for me?” he asked again.  
Tony snorted.  
“No.”  
“What if the earth is attacked by a Gigantic Atomic Lizard Monster?”  
“What? No! Maybe. It depends if someone else takes care of it,” Pepper sighed. It might be possible after all. Still... “You should stop binge-watching old japanese monster movies.”

\---

“Hey, I’m Harry.”  
Peter tore his eyes from his really interesting glass of Cola that he had nursed from the last hour while doing his best to not interact with anyone. Pepper had warned him that it would be boring but this was even worse than he could have ever imagined. As soon as they had arrived, Tony and Pepper had been literally swept away while Peter was mostly ignored. No one even questioned why he was there. He had moved to a wall and stood there. The only interaction he had was a nice waitress who asked him what he wanted to drink. He had promised to not look at his phone all the time and he did that, even though he really wanted to text Ned or play one of his games. Then this event wouldn‘t be so boring.

He had ‘used the time’ to plan his schedule for homework and study-times for the next couple of days, thought about improvements for his and Mr. Starks suits and about the spider-fluid and how to further strengthen it. He had also drafted one of his papers for english. He just hoped he would be able to note everything down before he forgot it again.  
Then He had listened in on some of the talks but they were even more boring. While Pepper was an interesting woman who always seemed busy and working, most of these women were talking about where they would go for vacation and what new dresses they had bought.  
The man-talk near him was only slightly more interesting… they talked mostly about stock market and finances and sometimes about what cars to buy.

So, seeing another teen was a pleasant surprise and maybe now the evening wouldn’t be so bad after all.  
“Hey, Harry. I’m Peter,” he answered with a smile.

\---

“So, you’re here with your parents?”  
“Uhm… not really. My aunt will be here tomorrow for the presentations,” Peter took another sip of his Cola. The two boys were still standing near the wall so they would be out of the way of any of the adults doing their networking.  
The last half hour they had commented about the different outfits of the party goers („that man over there looks like a penguin“ „And that woman like a disco ball?“) and which Star Wars movie was the best. Harry wasn’t even that much into the franchise but at least he had watched the movies and a few of the cartoons.  
“Presentation?” Harry seemed surprised. “Are you’re one of the finalists?”  
“Is that so surprising?  
Harry chuckled and gestured to the crowd in the large room: “Well, do you see any other teens here? The finalists aren’t normally attending this evening event. It is only for rich investors. And those are normally old farts. That is why I thought you’re here with your parents.”  
Harry chuckled again before he continued: “You have no idea how excited I was to see someone my own age!”

Peter couldn’t help but laugh along. He understood it. The moment he had walked into the room he felt like his presence dropped the average age a couple of decades.  
“Well, that explains a lot.”  
“No shit.”  
Peter almost said ‘language’ but stopped last moment. Not a single person was paying any attention to them after all.  
“So I guess you’re here with your parents?” Peter returned the question.  
“With my dad,” Harry scrunched his nose.”He thinks it’s a good training for later, when I take over the family business.”  
He glanced to Peter.  
“But I’d rather do math homework than get pinched in the cheek one more time by some old crook.” With a higher pitched voice and a very bad british accent he added “‘My, aren’t you an adorable little boy? You look just like your father. Squeeze’,” he even made the gesture of squeezing an imaginary person into the cheek.  
Peter nearly spit out the sip he had just taken but forced it down his throat before starting to laugh.  
“Ooops!” Harry obviously did not sound sorry.  
“You know,” Peter coughed a bit, “I actually like to do math so it would be a win-win for me.”  
“And that surprised no one. You’re obviously a nerd.”  
Peter stopped a moment like he was seriously thinking about that.  
“Well, duh. I like Star Wars and science I’m obviously not only a nerd but a geek too.”  
Again the other boy laughed.  
“Wow, am I glad you’re cool.”  
Peter grinned. The evening was really taking a turn for the better. He had even made a new friend.

For a couple of moments the two boys continued to watch the people.  
“You did it right. Standing here at the border avoiding eye contact. That is a great plan of action. I should have done that too years ago,” Harry shoved Peter lightly with his elbow.  
“Seriously. I didn’t even dare to go towards the buffett in fear of having to talk to one of these people and making a total fool out of me.”  
“What? You haven’t eaten yet?”  
Peter shook his head.  
“Then we have a mission!” Harry sounded excited, “We need to reach the food.”  
“Okay!”  
Now, missions were a thing Peter could do.

\---

They had managed (mostly thanks to Peters senses) to cross the room without being detected by old people who would be delighted to see some youth in this stuffy place. Even though there was a close call in which Peter had dramatically gestured towards Harry that he should continue without him but Harry had equally dramatic answered “No one is left behind!” and they both avoided two old woman who had walked towards the bar go get some drinks, while they hid behind one of the many bartables.  
And as soon as they reached the buffet, they started to stuff their faces and to pile food on their plates, as fast as possible, to then retreat into another corner nearby.  
It was lucky that Harry had at least as much on his plate as Peter, so he wouldn’t feel too weird when his super-metabolism would demand even more food. He did have a snack before they went to this event but it was very unlikely that he would get another midnight snack later on. And the food was right there.

„Shish ish delishous!“  
Peter continued to devour another one of the pastries filled with bacon and cheese.  
Harry nodded enthusiastically before swallowing and napping his mouth.  
„The food is the only thing I look forward to with this event. And we should eat as much as we can! Because everything that is not eaten by the guests or the kitchen crew will be thrown away. If the kitchen staff is even allowed to eat from it.“  
„What?“ Peter stopped the fork full of glass noodles that were presented in little glasses, halfway to his mouth. „Why? Can‘t they… I dunno…,“ he shrugged, „donate it or something?“  
Harry shook his head.  
„There are strict terms for this kind of stuff. Food health regulations. Everything on this table can‘t be donated.“  
Peter stared for a few moments before hastily finishing his plate to return to the buffett, loading as much on it as his plate could take.  
„I‘m no fan of wasting food,“ he explained to a wide-eyes Harry who then started to laugh, and with that they both continued to eat.

Between two bites Peter decided to learn more about his new friend:“You know a lot about this stuff, huh? Terms and regulations? High Society behaviour?“  
The other boy shrugged and showed a strained smile:“ Well I am going to inherit my dad's business one day and since I‘m not good with science, it‘s law and economy.“  
„Wow. I‘m really bad with economy. I‘m glad I only had to learn the basics.“  
„Which school do you go to?“  
„Midtown School of Science and Technology.“  
Harry frowned at that probably wondering if he knew that name.  
“Is it a boarding school?”  
“Uhm… yeah actually. Some kids are boarding there…,” Peter shrugged, “Not me though. I live in Queens.”  
“So you live at home?”  
“Hmm. With my aunt.”  
“Who will be here tomorrow.”  
Peter nodded with another spoon full of delicious food in his mouth, trying to figure out what exactly this mix of vegetables were.  
“That is nice,” Harry answered without much enthusiasm. Peter stopped the fork half way to his mouth, looking up to the other teen, trying his hardest to come up with something else to talk about. Then it hit him. Everyone knew about the Avengers chasm, right?  
“Hey, since you’re so good with laws, what do you think about the Sokovia Accords? Have you read them?”

Obviously surprised by the change in topic Harry did not answer instantly but only after a couple of moments: “We did read it in school and talked about it. A lot.”  
“And what do you think?” Peter had read it too… well, skimmed it… and still wasn’t sure what to think. What he would have done. A lot of the points made sense. Plus he would not have fought Tony. So he would have probably signed it. He didn’t though. He wasn’t part of the Avengers. Yet.

Harry shrugged.  
“It’s really hard to say. It’s one thing to defy one nation, like Iron Man and Black Widow had done towards the USA but to defy the UN, which is… like almost the whole world… is a different matter. I guess Captain America did have his reasons to rebel… but the paper is within its rights and… well the Avengers are super strong and cool and aliens… and that is scary for normal humans. So it makes sense, right? Everyone needs to follow laws and until the Sokovia Accords the Avengers acted outside of any law because before they, as a group, existed and started to operate, it had never been necessary. I mean it hadn’t been necessary to to even think about laws considering superhumans… they didn’t seem to exist before. Well I’m really not sure but I think the Accords make sense. And I think if I were an Avenger, I would have signed them.”  
Harry shrugged again while Peter was surprised about this extensive answer.  
“But you know, we didn’t had any new situation that would need the Avengers to interfere, yet. So from an outside perspective it’s really hard to say… how much damage the Accords did. I mean most Avengers are still in hiding.”

“Wow,” that made Peter come up with his next question: “Who is your favorite Avenger?”  
“Black Widow. She’s hot.”  
Peter laughed out loud, nearly spitting the potato salad he was just eating all over his - no, Tony’s suit. He had met Black Widow. She was scary in her efficiency. But he understood how a lot of teens favoured her. Good looking and strong and without superpowers.  
“What’s so funny? Who is your favorite Avenger?”  
“Uhhmmm,” the answer was kind of obvious but Peter wasn’t really sure if it was so smart to just blurt it out. Luckily his mouth was full and also he didn’t had to, because Harry was leaning in and whispering his next question.  
“Do you know that Iron Man is here?!“  
“Uhhhhmmm,” of course he knew, looking into the room searching for both Tony and Pepper but not seeing them.

Instead another man was walking towards them. Peter recognized him! … That is… he had seen him before. But where? He glanced to the other teen whose smile had become more strained.  
“Harry, who is your friend?”  
The man had reached around Harry’s shoulder to hug him towards him, then releasing the teen again and extending his hand towards Peter. “Hello, I’m Norman Osborn, Harry’s father.” Peter gaped at the man for a few moments. Harry was the son of Norman Osborn, Head of Oscorp. He continued to stare with big eyes and a full mouth, before he remembered that there was something like manners. As fast as he could he swallowed the cheese and wiped his hand on his trouser, trying not to think that that was probably a bad idea.  
“Hello, my name is Peter Parker,” with a smile he extended his hand towards the man. “Wow, this is an honor!”  
“Parker? Where do I know that name from…?”  
As an answer the two teens looked at each other and then shrugged their shoulders.  
“It’s not an unusual name, Sir.”  
“Yeah, probably,” Osborn smiled  
„Mr. Osborn, our school had visited your Bio-Tech Lab last year and it had been fascinating!“ Peter gushed.  
The man nodded to that, still smiling.  
„Using animal genetics to try to beat illnesses is a fascinating take but will it be really possible?“  
„Hard to say, kid. So far we had no luck. But what are you doing here anyway? Until now Harry always had been the only child around. Who are your parents?”  
“He’s one of the finalists, dad,” Harry interjected.  
“Really? That is unusual. They aren’t normally here. What is your project?”  
“I’m not allowed to talk about my project, Sir.“  
The man nodded with a smile.  
“Of course. Otherwise you could be disqualified.”

“And that is why you shouldn’t even ask the kid, Norman.”  
Peter felt an arm wrap around his shoulder and he looked up to his mentor who had appeared out of nowhere.  
“Tony, nice to meet you.”  
The words were betrayed by the tight smile on Mr. Osborn’s face and the following handshake was professional but not friendly. Well, Stark Industrie and Oscorp were direct rivals in some areas.  
“Mr. Stark!”  
“Hey, Peter. You’re having fun?”  
„I… yes. I mean, after I met Harry,“ he smiled awkwardly to Harry who now gaped at him and Iron Man still keeping Peter in a semi-hug.  
„Harry? Wow, you grew quite a bit. How are you doing?“ Tony extended his hand to the other teen for a friendly handshake.  
„Uh…,“ the boy seemed a bit overwhelmed. Peter knew that feeling sooo good.

„He‘s doing great. He‘s one of the best students in his class,“ Norman Osborn answered in place of his son. Tony halted for a second before straightening up, just a bit more and started to show his public personality, mostly reserved for people who thought they were very, very important.  
„Really? Well, Peter is top of his class too and also head figure of the science decathlon team. They will soon defend their title as national champions.“  
„Oh, that is nice. Harry is the head of the debate club and thanks to his training and leadership his team will also fight in the finals for the first time in ten years of his schools history.“

The two teens were sharing a horrified and confused look and while Harry shrugged in an excusing way, Peter tried to process what was happening.

„Impressive! The school considers to let Peter graduate a year early so he can start studying and doesn’t get bored.“  
„Academic achievements are very important but so are athletics. Harry is also one of the best player in the schools Lacrosse team.“  
„Congratulation. That is really impressive. But do you know that Peter is doing a presentation tomorrow about his project which made him a finalist of this international science competition? Because he is doing that.“  
„Oh? How amazing. I‘m sure his _parents_ and _family_ are really proud of him,“ the smile on Osborn's face was a mix of polite and mocking.

Peter could feel the hand on his shoulder tighten a bit. Mr. Stark had been nothing but supportive towards him, not only while he was Spider-Man but also about his research and school projects. It was constructive and a lot of fun. Even when Peter had nearly destroyed the lab with the experiment that had ultimately made him get so far in this competition. But the best parts were when they didn‘t do work together but just hung out. They had started to watch old movies together and then quite often the newer versions of the movies to compare them, like Godzilla. And sometimes even Pepper joined.  
So, the comment was really unfair, even if they weren’t a ‚real‘ family, Peter had caught himself to think of them as one.

„Yes, my aunt is really proud and supportive of me and we are both thankful to Mr. Stark for giving me the chance to be an intern at Stark Industries at such a young age. He has become a mentor and a friend.“

It was a sentence Pepper had taught him should he ever face a bunch of noisy paparazzi and it was true. He could feel Mr. Starks hand on his shoulder relax a bit.  
Norman Osborn took a good hard look at Peter before he answered in a calm compassionate voice: “I knew your parents. I just remembered. I‘m sorry for your loss.“  
Once again Peters mouth stood open, completely forgotten how to articulate words, his face probably mirrored that of Harry. The other teens eyes flitted from his father to Mr. Stark and to Peter and back.  
What was going on?  
As so often lately Peter was really glad that Mr. Stark was with him, grounding him because everything about this evening had become just surreal.

„You… you knew…what?“ Peter finally managed.  
„I knew your parents. Your father was working for me. A brilliant mind. As well as your mother. No wonder you‘ll become a scientist too. Even if for the wrong company,“ his smile was warm and understanding.  
„I… I see,“ Peter stared down at this plate that still had some food left, not sure what to think because he rarely thought about his parents, trying to focus on the present as much as possible. After all the death of Ben was still very present.  
„Hey, Pete?“  
The kid looked up to Tony, with wide eyes like he only realised just now that adult was still standing there.  
„You look tired. Let‘s go rescue Pepper and go back to the suit. You need to be in top form tomorrow.“  
„Yeah. Okay,“ his eyes only glanced up at Mr. Osborn for a moment, and he somehow managed a „Goodbye, Mr. Osborn. It was an honor,” and extended his hand for another handshake.  
The man nodded and smiled down at Peter:“I look forward to see more of your work in the future. I‘m sure it‘s bright.“  
Then Peter looked to Harry: „Thanks for the company. It was fun,“ Peter smiled, even if a little strained but he really meant it.  
„It was. I‘ll root for you tomorrow,“ Harry smiled back, almost encouraging.  
„Then good night and maybe we‘ll see each other tomorrow.“  
„Night, Peter! May the force be with you.“  
The two boys laughed, the heaviness a bit lifted. Tony shook his head also a small smile on his face before he focused on Norman Osborn again.  
„Well, until next time Norman.“  
„Tony. I‘m sure it won‘t be too far in the future.“  
Again they shook hands, both putting too much force in it.  
„Until next time, Harry. Take care.“  
„Thank you, Mr. Stark. You too.“

With a little tug Tony got Peter to move. They walked along the border of the group of guests, so they wouldn‘t be stopped by anyone. The arm wasn’t wrapped around Peters shoulders anymore but Tonys hand stayed between the teens shoulderblades for steering purpose.  
„You okay?“  
The question was only whispered but Peter, of course, heard it and looked up.  
„Yeah. I‘m fine… just… surprised.“  
„You didn‘t knew this?“  
He shook his head  
„No. Neither May nor Ben ever told me. Did you know?“  
Tony shrugged.  
„I did a complete background check on you and your family. I figured you‘d ask, May or me or Friday, if you wanted to know.“  
Peter nodded at that. The thought to ask about his parents hadn‘t even occurred to him. But now he might as well look it up, in a calm moment.

\---

It didn‘t take them long until they found Pepper, charming a whole group of CEOs and their wives. It was impressive because she absolutely controlled the conversation.  
While Peter stood back to clear his plate Tony stepped forward into the group asking if he   was allowed to abduct his beautiful fiancé which earned him a couple of charmed laughs and gave him the opportunity to tell Pepper that they would leave and if she wanted to join.  
After they exchanged a couple of more whispered words, he stayed with the group of CEOs and Pepper walked up to Peter.  
„You want to leave?“ she smiled down at the teen with understanding eyes.

Peter opened his mouth but stopped and closed it again. He didn‘t want to leave but it was also very unlikely that he could continue to hang out with Harry and the alternative was to silently stand in a corner or passively beside Tony and Pepper while they talked with other adults. And as much as Peter wanted to be seen as a fellow, responsible grown up he wouldn‘t survive that. He would literally die of boredom. Also he had already said goodbye and it would be weird to stay much longer. Even though he knew that was a thing adults did. Saying goodbye and then continuing their talks for another half an hour.  
Finishing his thoughts he looked back up at Pepper who showed an amused smile.

„Yeah, I‘d like to leave. Are you coming too?“  
The answer was a chuckle and a peek at her wristwatch before she nodded.  
„Actually yes. I‘ve talked to the most important people and tomorrow is another day. Finishing work at 10:30 p.m. doesn‘t sound so bad.“  
Her gaze fell on Peters empty plate, that he was still holding onto.  
„Did you had enough to eat or should we order room service?“ She had seen how much the boy was able to eat.  
Peter frowned.  
„Do you think we could get some of the food that is already on the buffet? I don‘t want it to go to waste.“  
The woman looked surprised for a moment but then started to consider it and finally nodded.  
„Leave it to me,“ she gave a quick glance over her shoulder To the group of people that surrounded Tony and then added, „Also give us ten minutes and we‘re ready to go. Need to rescue my man first.“  
Peter laughed and nodded and then put his plate on one of the nearby bar tables to finally fish his mobile out of the pocket to tell Ned what had happened.

PP: _Dude! This evening was so weird! I met Norman Osborn and his son Harry. And Harry is really cool. But then Mr. Osborn said he knew my parents? My dad worked for him?!_  
_And that was so weird!!_

NL: _What?! No?_

PP: _I know, right?_  
PP: _And even more weird, Mr. Osborn and Mr. Stark got into some kind of… proud-dad-battle?! Like, Mr. Stark was bragging with my grades and how I’m in decathlon team?!_

NL: _…_  
NL: _dude!_

PP: _I KNOW!!_  
PP: _WHAT EVEN?!_

NL: _We need to look at this in detail._  
NL: _Like…_  
NL: _Boom! Mind blown!_  
NL: _… wow._  
NL: _But another time.  
_NL: _It's late._

PP: _I know._

NL: _How was the food? Fancy?_

PP: _Amazing! Small servings but really good!_

NL: _Awesome!_

PP: _Write ya soon!_

NL: _N8!_

„Hey, Pete! You ready?“ that moment Tony appeared in front of the teen and he fast typed ‘night!’ back to Ned before putting his phone in his pocket.  
„Didn‘t we say no phone this evening?“  
„The evening is almost over Mr. Stark. I had to tell Ned what happened.“  
„Of course.”

While talking they had started to walk towards the door and the elevator where Pepper was already waiting for them, a smirk on her face and hands full with a tablet on which she had stacked lots of food.  
Tony started to laugh while Peter hurried to her to take the tablet that turned out to be actually quite heavy.  
„Did you steal the food? Is that why you left a bit earlier?“ Tony’s voice was clearly amused.  
„It‘s free to take and no one was eating and Peter is hungry so I went hunting and gathered food,“ Pepper shrugged nonchalantly while she explained that and all three stepped into the elevator: Tony pressed the button to their suit.  
„Wow! Thanks a lot, Ms. Potts“  
„Don‘t mention it, Peter. The faces of the other people were actually quite amusing.“  
„Because you ‚hunted and gathered’ food. We‘re back in in the stone age, I guess“  
Again Pepper shrugged.  
„Maybe.“  
„So, can I drag you into my cave and…“  
Peter made a gagging noise before Tony could finish. It was enough to make the man stop and glare at the boy who was holding the tablet almost defensive in front of himself.  
„Please, Mr. Stark. I don‘t want to lose my appetite. This food needs to be eaten.“

Peter actually thought that it was cute when both Pepper and Tony were relaxed enough to get flirty with each other. And he took some pride in the fakt they could do it with him around. But at the same time it was always a bit awkward and one day he had learned that if he made disgusted and or gagging noises that they would stop, plus it annoyed Tony, which was funny (even if Peter would never admit that this might be one of the reasons he interrupted the flirts). Peter figured that the couple wasn’t really used to have young people around, so he knew they didn’t made it awkward on purpose. Also he would remember a few occasions when May and Ben were lovey dovey with each other. It was a nice to think about those moments from time to time.

“Rude!” Tony shook his head before looking to the woman beside him for help: “Can you believe this?”  
“Well, he definitely didn’t learn this from May so that raises the question, who did he get this behavior from?” Pepper didn’t even look back at Tony but a smile was evident on her lips.  
“Yeah, Mr. Stark? Where did I get this from?” Peter laughed while asking the question.  
“I don’t know? Probably Video Games?”  
Again Peter laughed, while Pepper shook her head, still smiling.

They finally arrived at the suit and Peter hurried inside to put the tablet on the coffee-table by the couch to start eating again. Pepper and Tony joined him to also get a snack. They didn’t had time to eat while at the event.  
The teen used this time to tell them about what he and Harry had talked about (Star Wars) and what they did (reaching the food) but left out all of the more serious topics (the Accords) and the weird situations (the dad-fight). And this time he didn’t made gagging noises when the couple cuddled together on the couch.

Half an hour later the food was eaten and Peter yawned which made Pepper shoo him towards his room to get ready for bed. Tomorrow was a big day.

\---

„Peter! I‘m so proud of you!“ Before he could react any other way, the teen was embraced in a strong hug from his aunt.  
Not that he minded and gladly returned it (with toned down force) mostly relieved that this was over.  
He didn‘t win with his project but he didn‘t make a stumbling, embarrassing mess out of himself while presenting, so, that was still a win.  
„Thank you, May! I‘m glad it‘s over.“  
„Still! Look at you! You’re having a great career in front of you. My little scientist. Seems like Stark is good for something after all,“ again she hugged Peter.  
„May! Please!“  
Why do parental figures have this tendency to embarrass their kids whenever possible? And aunt May was fully aware that she was a master of this, so she chuckled at her nephews embarrassment.

„I still think you should have won! You work is amazing!“  
„No, it‘s fine. The uses are too specialized. Maybe after a couple more tests it will be better. I really think the other projects were better and deserve to be funded now.“  
„I’m sure you know what you are talking about,“ the pride radiated off of her. „I‘ll help you pack up. Pepper mentioned something about a small celebration back at the compound. The earlier we get there, the earlier we get food into you and me.“  
Peter laughed. Together they walked over to the table where Peters project was displayed for investors to have a look at.  
Not like his work wasn‘t already „sold“. But it was awesome to see other people being interested too. The whole fact that he even came this far still seemed really alien to him.

There were still a couple of people in the table-area, investors, finalists, their families and security, most of them talking to the winner, asking her about her future plans and giving her job offers. Seeing that made Peter actually happy that he did not win. He would have been overwhelmed.

\---

„Peter! Hey!“  
He had just started to put away the displays in a box when he heard the call.  
Looking up he saw Harry jogging up and waving to him.  
„Peter!“ Harry came to a stop in front of him to catch breath.  
“Hey! You ok?”  
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine,” he huffed a bit. “I just wanted to say that your presentation was awesome and it’s a pity you only got third place. I think your idea is amazing. But I guess hard to market.”  
“Thank you! And yes, I guess so too,” Peter laughed.  
“Hey, do you want to hang out when I’m back in New York?”  
“Back in New York?” Peter brows furrowed and Harry shrugged before he answered.  
“Yeah, I’m gonna leave for School in Europe again but when I’m back, I thought it would be cool to meet again. Maybe some of your friends can tag along too?” Harry became a bit flustered but still continued. “I actually don’t know anyone my age in New York and… since it was a lot of fun yesterday I figured you might be down for another meeting. Movies or gaming?”  
“Awww, Peter! A playdate!”

The two teens both turned to May who was showing a broad smile.  
“May!” Seriously in moments like those his aunt was just the worst.  
“Uhm…,” Harry obviously hadn’t seen the older woman sitting in the background packing away flasks. “My Name is Harry. I guess you’re Peters aunt? Nice to meet you.”  
He stepped forward, hand reached out for a handshake that May gladly took.  
“That I am. Call me May. Nice to meet you too, Harry.”  
“All right, May.”  
She answered with a warm smile and a nod. With that Harry turned back to Peter.  
“Well, what do you say? Wanna stay in contact?”  
“Sure!”  
Immediately the two boys exchanged social media, phone numbers and email. Then Harry excused himself again and vanished, waving a last time and shouting a goodbye.

“So, you made a new friend?” May walked up to Peter draping her arm around his shoulders.  
“Yeah,” he looked over to his aunt smiling. “I met him yesterday at the event. Only other one around my age. The rest was soooo old,” he halted a bit. “Except for Ms. Potts and Mr. Stark of course.”  
“Of course.”  
“But yeah. He’s cool,” for a moment he hesitated. “He’s Norman Osborn’s son.”  
“What? Really? Wow.” Peter kept a watchful eye on his aunt but she did not seem too weird out by the name before she furrowed her brows like she just remembered something:“Did I ever tell you that your father used to work for Oscorp?”  
“No, you did not but Mr. Osborn told me that yesterday and that he is sorry for my loss.”  
Now both of Mays eyebrows were high up, obviously trying her hardest to find words.  
“Oh… okay and now you’ve befriended his son. Which is a weird coincidence but when did our family ever had not to work out those?”  
“I know, right?” Peter laughed with an awkward undertone. “But Harry is cool! And I hope I can help him to find more friends!”  
“You’re going to introduce him to Ned?”  
“Of course!”

\---

“You know you did really well, today?”  
Tony carefully patted Peters head before walking around the couch sitting down beside him.  
“Thank you Mr. Stark,” the teen put his phone down. He’d looked up Harry’s Social Media and sent him friend requests.  
“I still think you should have won, though.”  
“No, it’s fine. I mean the formula is not perfect yet. It dries too fast and the usages are very limited. The others had better projects. Like, clean energy is always a good cause and the winner was really onto something…,”  
Tony rolled his eyes and sighed so Peter stopped.  
“Yeah, I get it. But I still think your formula is awesome.”  
“I found it by mistake, Mr. Stark.”  
“Stop putting yourself down, kid. Many great inventions were made by mistake,” he got his phone out seeing that Rhodey had just sent him a message.  
Irritated he turned to the group of three people huddled together like conspirators on the other side of the room, which made Tony furrowed his brows. Peter turned too, watching his aunt, Pepper and Col. Rhodes laughing with each other.  
“That is worrisome…”  
“Uh huh.”  
Rhodey caught them spying and used the chance to snap another photo, laughing again and showing the picture to the two women.

Turning back around to sit more comfortable again, Tony looked at the message that turned out to be the photo from yesterday that Pepper had made before they left for the party.  
“Look at this. We’re handsome,” the man chuckled and Peter had to agree. They didn’t look too bad.  
“Yeah… can you send it to me? I want to show it Ned. Also, thanks again for lending me the suit. I hope I didn’t dirty it too much.”  
“There are some grease spots, which is no surprise, but it’s fine. You’ll have it back as soon as it’s cleaned.”  
Wait.  
“Back?”  
“Of course. I won’t wear it again. It’s too small. And look at the picture,” he showed it again while sending it over to Peters phone. “The suit fits you perfectly. Maybe for another year. That is, if you don't grow too much. Keep it in case you need it.”  
Another message von Rhodey appeared on Tonys phone and this time it was the photo he had just shot.  
Peter laughed, because it did look funny how they both had turned but only visible up from the tip of their noses.  
“This looks great.”  
Tony nodded with resignation but also a smile on his face.  
“I’m sure Pepper will love that. She is collecting pictures with us two.”  
“Really?“ for some reason Peter found that more surprising than it probably should be. He had seen Pepper making photos of him and Tony quite often.  
“I fear for the day she starts scrapbooking,” Tony scrunched his nose but it’s obvious that he wouldn’t really mind it. Why should he?  
“I’ll send you this too, if you want to.”  
“Sure!”

Peter activated his phone to save the picture but saw a couple of new messages from social media instead. Harry had followed him back.  
“You exchanged contacts with Harry?”  
“Yup,” Peter typed a message to Harry, linking him Neds profiles so they could get to know each online before meeting in real life. “We’ll meet next time when he’s home. He doesn’t know any other teens in New York. Being in school abroad and such.”  
Tony nodded to this.  
“Of course you gonna befriend the son of one of the biggest rivals to Stark Biotech.” He glanced once more to the kid, smiling.  
“But I’m glad for him. I’m sure you’ll be a great friend. Harry is a good kid. His dad is an ass, though.”

For a moment Peter halted his typing but then finished and finally put the phone away again. He really wanted to know what had happened yesterday but asking right out seemed… weird. Peter had retold Ned everything, well as good as he could, and they had tried to dissect every single thing but in the end they just came to the conclusion that Tony had indeed acted like a proud dad who tried to outbrag another dad.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. For standing up for me. Yesterday. To be honest it was a bit surprising but, still… thank you.”  
“No need to thank me for that. Everything I said was true. You’re doing great, kid.”  
They were silent for a few moments, staring at nothing, only hearing the other three people laughing, before Tony started again: “But I wasn’t really defending you. I just couldn’t stand how Norman started to brag. I shouldn‘t have done that. But I really meant everything. I’m very proud of you. But it sucks that Norman went for the whole parent and family thing. He wanted to jab at me but well… you got caught in the crossfire and it shouldn‘t be like that.“

Peter hummed thoughtful and remembered the whole situation. It suddenly made more sense. He knew about Tony’s bitterness towards his own father, feeling like never being good enough for anything. It wasn‘t like Tony hasn‘t hinted towards that multiple times and how he tried to be better for Peter‘s sake. And maybe more people knew about that. Like Norman Osborn who had then used that information to build pressure in an argument.

„It wasn‘t your fault. I think it‘s mean that Mr. Osborn even tried to go so low. He shouldn‘t do that.“  
„I know but it might happen again and I hate that. I shouldn’t just use you for my own agenda and you should not be a target when people try to get me. Not by mistake and not by intention.“

Peter figured that Tony was only partly speaking to the kid and partly to himself. And that this was about more than just one situation. Thousands in everyday life and thousands in superhero life. But it spoke so much that he tried. And right that moment Peter wanted to help and to assure the adult beside him that it was okay. 

„Don‘t worry about me, Mr. Stark. I know how to defend myself. And others. I‘m Spider-Man after all.“  
„And when you‘re Peter Parker?“  
„I‘ll punch less and outwit more. I‘m learning from the best after all.“  
A big smile spread over Tony's features.  
„Video Games, you know,“ the teen added.  
With resignation and a sigh the adult lowered his head before snapping it back up to look at a grinning Peter.  
„You little shit,“ but it lacked real anger.  
„A little shit to be proud of.“  
„True. Still a little shit. Also, language!“

Seconds later the door opened and both Happy and Vision walked in with lots of Pizza boxes.  
“Dinner is ready!”

Peter sighed in relief, already feeling like starving again. Tony stood up and extended his hand towards the teen as an invitation to be pulled up. Peter gladly followed. As soon as they stood, Tony to once more laid his arm around Peters shoulders.  
“Let’s eat.”

**Author's Note:**

> **Hey, thank you for reading! I just want to clear a couple of things up:**
> 
>   * It’s not so long ago that I rewatched the MCU movies and then the “Spider-Man” and “Amazing Spider-Man” movies. 
>   * After my MCU Marathon I really fell for the whole Irondad & Spiderson idea and started to binge-read fics. 
>   * I’ve never before dipped into any Comic-fandom and for the most part I will probably stay away from that because a lot going on there. 
>   * I read up a couple of things and my mind went blank whenever I read about a Character in any other context than the MCU so I’ll just stick to that
>   * That said I don’t think Norman Osborn or Harry will make an appearance in MCU, so I tried to orient myself on the other Spider-Man movies. 
>   * I also still need to watch the MCU Shows (Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Ironfist + Defenders )
>   * Additionally to having no idea about Marvel-Comics I also have no clue about science fairs or contests or how kids talk these days or any American regulations for anything.  
>  So, most details are pulled from my mind. Like is Harry even good at sports? I have no idea.
>   * Though I looked up some of the MCU-Additional Comics. That barely helped.
> 

> 
>   
> 
> 
>   * I really, really, really wanted Tony to act towards someone he dislikes like a proud dad and that is the basic idea behind this whole story. 
>   * I’m on page 63 of 89 pages of Tony & Spider-Man fics (Tagged Fluff, Rating G-T), so I’ve read a bit less than 36 pages of fics (I don’t read every single one, but read the tags and summary). So I’m sorry if anyone has written something similar. 
>   * I really wanted to get this out before Endgame. (The readiness for Endgame varies from day to day)
>   * How to stop writing when there is no real plot? Why are there suddenly 7k words?
>   * Did I get the Characters right?! I don‘t even know anymore. Pray tell!
>   * The working title is “MCU/ WTF am I doing? / Irondad & Spiderson ?”
>   * HOW DO I TAG ANYTHING FOR ANYTHING MARVEL?! THERE ARE LIKE A THOUSAND TIMELINES AND UNIVERSES?! **Please tell me if I missed anything!**
> 

> 
>   
> 
> 
>   * One more: binging Brooklyn99 helped too? 
>   * Also: Is there a fic of the time before “Civil War” in which Tony finds out about Spider-Man, starts to build the suit, realises that Spider-Man is actually only a teen, then questions everything and finally adds all the baby-monitoring and training wheels protocol because a teen is basically just a baby? If so, please link it to me! 
> 

> 
> It's five days later and this its my fanfiction with most kudos and most hits and it got actually comments it's generally well received? That is just crazy... you have no idea... Thank you all for reading! Really.  
> Well, in case anyone is wondering I consider to write even more for the fandom because I'm a sucker. See ya.


End file.
